‘I like her.’
‘I like Elena.’
‘Maybe I should have figured out my feelings long ago, should have made up my mind…’
‘Because whenever I see Elena’s smile, a warmth rises in my heart.’
At this moment, Ai’er decided to face her own feelings.
‘No matter how glaringly bright that 【178】 was, at least I can’t deceive my own heart.’
“I’ve said everything I need to say… So, System, what’s your answer?”
The garden was very quiet after Ai’er’s voice fell.
The only thing that could be heard at this moment was the whisper of the breeze passing through the garden, and—Ai’er’s own heartbeat.
[…Love.]
[Ever since this world was born, humanoid species have always been able to use the elusive emotion of ‘love’ as kindling to pursue faint possibilities.]
[But never mind.]
[Soul from another world, if you truly wish to realize the future you desire, I can show you a path.]
[Now then—]
[Let’s talk.]
The moment the system notification refreshed, everything around Ai’er was instantly engulfed in darkness.
After the sky and earth disappeared, a strange feeling of floating once again welled up in Ai’er’s heart.
She remembered this feeling.
After the earlier confrontation with the Apostle of the Evil God from the Black God Church, the System had thrown her into a pitch-black space.
‘This familiar feeling of floating… it seems I have returned here once again.’
But the next moment, the darkness before the girl’s eyes began to flow.
Ai’er didn’t know how to describe the scene before her. The originally empty darkness in her field of vision suddenly seemed to have boundaries, and then the darkness within those boundaries began to twist, as if she were looking at a black hole in the starry sky.
The boundaries and the darkness deformed together, gradually forming the shape of a human, and then that ‘human’ descended—
A body like the starry sky, eyes like the starry sky; the mana floating around it seemed to coalesce into dark halos, surrounding the deity from the darkness.
[Nice to meet you, soul from another world.]
[According to the naming conventions of this world, you may call me—]
[the Black God.]
…
“‘Proof of Existence and Utilization Theory of the Black God’s Blessing’… So this really is among the forbidden books.”
Elena’s brows were tightly furrowed, the girl’s fair fingers firmly gripping the book’s cover, her expression growing more solemn.
Finding evidence should have been a good thing, but the fact that this book was actually here only thickened the mystery in Elena’s heart.
She couldn’t understand…
The Sirius in her memory was so ruthless, so decisive. He could even be so cruel to his own daughter, Fina… And having hidden for so many years, she still hadn’t been able to see Sirius’s true face. Why had he so carelessly handed over this book, this piece of ‘evidence’ that would completely put him at a disadvantage, to her mother, and even when cleaning up his belongings later, failed to dispose of it?
“The only unsurprising point is that there’s no trace of the Marquis Residence on this box… not even a hint of House White.”
Black God Church… What was the truth behind all these things?
“What exactly is Sirius… planning?”
…
The Black God.
Ai’er knew another word that was the opposite—the White God.
Eve and Tina; both were Saintesses of the White God Holy Church. As for the Black God, it seemed that only the “Apostle of the Evil God” they had faced before was related to him.
‘Oh no, good and evil are so clearly divided, huh…’
Ai’er suddenly remembered that at the very beginning, in that cave, when she was being chased by Eve and the knights, the System had told her—
[Because of the binding with the Host, as long as System Points exist, there will be mana of unknown origin within the Host. And this mana will be regarded as Evil God Mana.]
‘—Now it seems to make sense.’
‘So the biggest question now is—’
‘The true identity of my System… was actually the Evil God QAQ?! So I really am an Apostle of the Evil God meow QAQ?!!’
[What is called good and evil, after all, is a standard set by humanoid species themselves.]
[If the White God you speak of can grant your wish, then you might as well pray to her.]
“F-forget it… So you said you would show me a path, meaning—”
[You want to stay by Elena White’s side until she stands at the pinnacle of the White Principality again. But the lifespan of this physical body of yours is only 178 days, not even enough to last until Leviathan’s next attack.]
The Black God spoke, his words clearly devoid of emotion, but Ai’er seemed to sense a hint of… amusement?
[There is indeed a way to extend the lifespan of this physical body, but you will need to pay a price.]
‘A price? As expected, all evil beings are the same.’
‘As they say, art imitates life. Demons, evil gods—these things in novels are all beings that sign contracts and devour human souls.’
‘This evil god wouldn’t also—Umeow!’
Ai’er’s head was struck by an invisible knife-hand.
[Do you think a god would covet the things of you created beings? Listen well, little one, I will not ask anything of you.]
[The only thing you need to do, the only thing I need you to do—is absorb Elena White’s mana.]
[Other than that, I don’t need you to do anything.]
‘Don’t need to do anything? Really, O.o?’
‘If he’s really that kind, then why is he called the Evil God?’
[Don’t overthink it. If you can truly achieve the future you desire, wouldn’t that be a form of entertainment for me as well?]
[Created beings always bring surprises to gods in unexpected ways. Such variables can leave some amusement in the endless years. That is the reason I am speaking with you now.]
[Alright, enough idle talk.]
The moment his voice fell, a thin black line suddenly pierced into Ai’er’s body, impaling her.
The silver-haired girl’s eyes shot wide open, but pain or any other abnormality never came.
[Now, you can use Elena’s mana to sustain your own lifespan, and even gain a certain amount of System Points when absorbing Elena’s mana.]
[I think you can probably understand that Elena White’s mana, like the ice crystals you saw earlier—]
[can indeed freeze time.]
‘Freeze time.’
Ai’er could probably guess that much. But…
‘Was it really only that?’
[As for the price I mentioned earlier—there are three points:]
[One: Before this physical body’s lifespan is exhausted, you cannot return to your original time and space for the time being.]
[Two: If you do not have enough points to sustain transmigration, the pain of falling into an ice hell will continuously stimulate your nerves until your consciousness fades.]
[Three: The mana of Elena that you absorb into your body will place a burden on your body. As for the specific manifestations… you must be mentally prepared.]
[Alright, what I need to say and do is over.]
[Go and struggle against fate, little one. Goodbye.]
“Wait—!”
Before the words could finish, all the darkness surrounding Ai’er was instantly pulled away.
When she came to her senses, she was back in the original pavilion.
The hot tea on Ai’er’s table was still emitting white steam, as if the girl’s disappearance had only been a matter of an instant.